Traditional Batak houses. The shape of the roof is raised at both ends, one end raised and providing shelter from the rain when drying rice, and the other end to symbolize that the family hopes their offspring will have greater success then they have.

The carved front cover of a ‘Pustaha’ magic book

This is a small version of the Pustaha. There is one version stored in the library of the University of Lieden that measures up to 15 feet.

Bataks character writings inside the Pustaha book.

Ambarita is located about 3km from Tomok on Samosir Island and is the home of the village of Siallagan which has become a tourist attraction for its cultural and historical past.

The village is surrounded by stone walls and entry is through a small gate and nearby stands a statue representing King Siallagan, who was the first man to discover Siallagan, take control of the area and opened it to outsiders.

In the centre of the courtyard, which is lined on one side by traditional Batak houses, there is a large tree which shades the stone chairs and small round table left by King Siallagan. It was on these chairs that the King brought justice to the criminals in the village. If a person was caught committing crimes such as stealing, cheating or murdering, they would be taken to the King and tribal leaders to be dealt an appropriate punishment. One form of punishment was to place the criminal in stocks and another was to have the criminal beheaded.

The death sentence carried a very strict rule which needed to be followed. Once the execution date had been determined, the criminal was held in stocks in a wooden cage under the King’s house as a prisoner. On the execution day, under the watch of the local leaders, the prisoner was taken out of the stocks and was given the chance to say their last words or request a last meal of their choice. They were then taken to the stone chairs, where the executioner would test if they had magic power by slightly cutting the prisoner’s skin to see whether or not they bled. If there was blood, it meant no magic was present and the execution could take place immediately.

There are two conflicting stories as to what happened to the criminals as far as removing magic goes.

The first theory is that if there was no blood, it was believed magic was present and the executioner would have to say special spells before scraping the cutter on the ground to remove it. After performing this ritual, the magic power of the prisoner would be gone and the execution would take place before throwing the body away into a ravine near Lake Toba.

The second theory is that once the prisoner was beheaded, it was believed that the magic power would still be present in the body, so that once the person was reincarnated the magic would remain with them. Therefore, certain parts of the body were eaten by fellow Bataks (who were known to be cannibals in the past) to remove the magic once and for all.

Also to be seen in the village is the ‘Pustaha’, which is a traditional Batak cultural book of medicine which contains notes, occult sciences, information on spells, how to resist evil, predictions of both good and bad, and how to forecast dreams. This book is written with Batak characters and the cover is usually made of wood, bark, or bamboo and is decorated with a traditional motif or carving of the lizard god, who symbolises Boraspati ni Tano.

The science written in the pustaha can be divided into three major parts – a living science, a science that destroys life and a way to foresee the future, and is usually used by a ‘dukun’ (shaman) or a student studying to become a dukun.

Although this village has now been set up for tourists and you can become overwhelmed by sellers trying to sell souvenirs as you try to leave, it is nonetheless a great experience to learn more about the Batak culture and traditions as we continue on our journey in the magical land of Batak…

Travelling around Samosir, you can’t help but notice the hundreds of graves and shrines scattered around the edges of Lake Toba – it’s like one giant cemetery in honour of each families ancestors. I was stunned that the dead are lay to rest in incredibly lavish and expensive tombs, whilst their living relatives live alongside them in states of poverty.

In the past, custom required that the Bataks rebury the bones of their ancestors in a solemn ritual in a large monument. Many of today’s Bataks whom have become Christians have continued this tradition, in a different form, as exhuming the bones of their forefathers still holds religious meaning. An ancestor qualifies for exhumation if he has a great number of descendants, as they are held in great respect from both our world and the nether-world. Therefore, those that have many children and grandchildren can achieve a higher rank and be exhalted, but their descendants must be willing to hold a big feast. The bones are exhumed before the feast, as it is believed they can join the festivities before being laid to rest in a concrete tomb. This tradition was forbidden by protestant missionaries in the past, but a revival was seen after 1930, where the feast and gondang music were permitted, but the churches wanted to end the practise of sacrificing to ghosts.

During current times, the relatives of the deceased, who have migrated to Medan, Jakarta, and other cities in Indonesia, still feel the need to enhance their Batak identity by erecting a monument in their native village. This is to show the unity of their clan and so that the good fortune of their family may continue, as well as show surrounding clans how prosperous they are.

The most popular monument to be seen has a statue of the ancestor standing dressed in traditional Batak clothing, and underneath the statue are the small apartments for the bones of the various forefathers. These tombs are usually built up high so that they are clearly visible and the names of the forefathers buried there are engraved on a plaque.

It is such an amazing sight to see these tombs scattered around the island, but I feel it is unfair that so much money is spent on erecting these, whilst the living relatives live in dilapidated housing alongside them. Perhaps it would be an idea to spend more money on the living so that the lineage can continue in good health and receive a proper education to secure their own futures..

After hearing about the traditional Sigale-gale dancing puppet, I was intrigued to see what this tradition was all about so we set off to find and film a performance. Driving around Lake Toba on a hired motorbike, we passed through some stunning scenery and finally arrived at the northern tip of Samosir Island at Simanindo which is 15km from Tuk Tuk.

Here we found the Museum Huta Bolan Simanindo, and for a small entry fee we were able to look around at the traditional buildings as well as watch a Batak performance and the Sigale-gale dancing.

According to Batak tradition, when a man passed away, their eldest son was to dance at the funeral to ward off evil spirits and prevent disasters and so the Sigale-gale was originally built to dance for people of note who had died without having children to perform for them. The doll was made with movable limbs, using wood and wires, and danced to set the dead man’s soul at ease. It was then taken around the village on a little wagon so it could embrace the dead man’s relatives and at daybreak, when the ceremony was over, the doll was left in Lake Toba.

According to legend, a Batak man who had no children to continue the family lineage found himself among the lesser ghosts and nameless slaves in the nether-world, and such a ghost was bent on causing harm to the living. By making a doll to represent the deceased man, it served as a reminder to the dangerous ghost of his previous state in life, and to remind him to leave the living in peace.

The knowledge and traditions of the doll of the dead has all but disappeared and all that now remains is a puppet show, a caricature of the original ritual, which is performed as entertainment for tourists.

Yah! Time to head back to Samosir Island for Putra to film more for his Batak documentary… and to see more sites as our first stop there had been so quick…

Waiting for the ferry to depart to Tuk Tuk from Tomok we watched as some young boys jumped from the roof of the ferry into Lake Toba to retrieve money thrown to them by passengers… The boys kept the money in their mouths as they dived for more… A very impressive skill and looked like so much fun… a great way to cool off in the crazy heat and make some money in the process!

Boys sit waiting at the pier at Tomok

Jumping from the ferry roof into Lake Toba at Tomok

Great way to escape the heat..

Jumping from the ferry with Putra’s video playing…. just before he dropped it into the water and sent us into a little panic as he couldn’t see it anymore… but phew! found it at the bottom of the Lake..

All smiles once the video was retrieved and the ferry got ready to depart..

ABOUT ME

My name is Tasha May and I am a Producer, freelance Graphic Designer, Blogger, and mum to a gorgeous baby boy. After a quick visit to Jakarta in 2009, Indonesia got under my skin and I have been blessed to have lived here ever since. This blog is a keepsake of memories of my journeys outside of the chaotic Indonesian capital.